WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military has boarded another commercial vessel during blockade of Iran's ports, but unlike in previous cases, the ship was ultimately allowed to carry on its way.
U.S. Central Command said on social media that Marines boarded the Blue Star III on Tuesday but “released the vessel after conducting a search and confirming its voyage would not include an Iranian port call.” An accompanying video showed American forces fast-roping from a helicopter onto the vessel.
The Blue Star is at least the fourth merchant ship to be boarded since the Trump administration began the blockade of Iranian shipping more than two weeks ago, but it is the first to not be taken into U.S. custody. The U.S. blockade aims to squeeze Iran amid a ceasefire in the war as Tehran's cutoff of the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for energy shipments, ripples across the global economy.
Data from ship tracking websites shows that the Blue Star departed the Pakistani port of Qasim and was en route to the port of Sohar, Oman.
The military offered no information about what prompted it to suspect the ship. U.S. Central Command has become more aggressive in making the case that the blockade works amid skepticism from outside experts.
The military command that oversees the Middle East has not only provided regular updates on the number of merchant ships it says the blockade has turned around but also claimed Tuesday that “U.S. forces cut off economic trade going into and coming out of Iran.”
Shortly after the blockade began, Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the enforcement actions would extend beyond Iranian waters and the area under control of U.S. Central Command.
The military also detailed an expansive list of goods that it considers contraband, declaring that it will board, search and seize them from merchant vessels “regardless of location.”
A notice says any “goods that are destined for an enemy and that may be susceptible to use in armed conflict” are “subject to capture at any place beyond neutral territory.”
However, shipping experts like Salvatore Mercogliano, a professor at Campbell University, have said Iranian ships have several ways to sneak through the blockade, including spoofing their location tracking data or traveling through Pakistani territorial waters.
Mercogliano also noted that the sheer volume of shipping traffic that the military needs to screen is a challenging task.
Capt. Tim Hawkins, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command, said the boarding of the Blue Star on Tuesday “demonstrates our thorough enforcement of the blockade.”
FILE - A boat sails past a tanker anchored on the Strait of Hormuz off the coast Qeshm island, Iran, April 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Asghar Besharati, File)
An Afghanistan women's refugee team has been granted eligibility for international competitions, some five years after national team players fled their country's Taliban rule.
The FIFA Council, meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia, agreed on Tuesday to amend its regulations to recognize the refugee team, which plays under the name Afghan Women United.
While it is too late for the refugee team to try to qualify for the 2027 Women's World Cup in Brazil, it could participate in qualification for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
“We are proud of the beautiful journey initiated by Afghan Women United, and with this initiative we aim to enable them, as well as other FIFA member associations that may not be able to register a national or representative team for a FIFA competition, to make the next step, in coordination with the relevant confederation,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino said in a statement.
The first move toward recognition came last October, when the Afghan refugees played in a tournament that included Chad, Libya and Tunisia in Morocco. That event followed years of lobbying on the team's behalf by players, former captain and activist Khalida Popal and human rights groups.
“For five years, we were told the Afghanistan women’s national team could never compete again because the men who took our country would not allow it,” Popal said in a statement. “I am extremely proud of this decision by FIFA and glad that our collective advocacy has not only changed the future for Afghan women but also ensured that no other national team has to sacrifice what our players did."
There are more than 80 Afghan refugee players scattered across Australia, the United States and Europe. Two camps were recently held for the women, one in England and another in Australia.
The team, coached by Pauline Hamill, is expected to play a pair of exhibitions during the upcoming June international window against opponents to be determined.
“For the last few years, we have played under many names — as refugees, as Afghan Women United, and as guests of other clubs — but in our hearts, we were always the national team," Australia-based player Nazia Ali said. "To hopefully be able to wear our flag again officially is a feeling I cannot describe.”
The Afghan women’s team played its last competitive match in 2018. The Taliban, an Islamic fundamentalist group, shut down all women's sports when it returned to power in 2021. The players fled Afghanistan, fearing persecution.
Even before the demise of the team, the Afghan soccer federation was under investigation for misconduct involving the women’s program, including allegations of rape and physical abuse. Keramuddin Keram, the federation president, was banned for life by FIFA.
Discrimination is not allowed under FIFA regulations, but the Afghan federation hasn’t been suspended from international soccer despite failing to acknowledge the women’s team.
“FIFA has finally done the right thing by closing the loophole that allowed the Taliban’s discriminatory policies to be enforced on the global stage,” said Minky Worden, director of global initiatives for Human Rights Watch. “FIFA’s action should serve as a model for how international sports bodies should respond when athletes are systemically excluded because of their gender, ethnicity or beliefs.”
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
FILE - Members of Afghan Women United soccer team celebrate after scoring a goal against Chad, in their first international tournament since fleeing their country, in Casablanca, Morocco, on Oct. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy, File)
